Collaboration between U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces and the Syrian Ministry of Interior delivered a heavy blow to ISIS’s logistical capacity during a joint operation conducted in the Rif Damashq province of southern Syria between November 24 and 27. U.S. military personnel assigned to the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) worked in coordination with Syrian forces on this mission, successfully locating and destroying more than 15 weapons and munitions storage sites. This successful joint operation was executed using multiple airstrikes and ground detonation methods, achieving a significant disruption to the terrorist group’s asymmetric warfare capability.
The volume of destroyed materiel highlights the seriousness of ISIS’s rebuilding efforts in the region. During the operations, over 130 mortars and rockets were eliminated, along with numerous assault rifles, machine guns, anti-tank mines, and materials prepared for the manufacture of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Furthermore, the discovery and destruction of illicit drugs alongside the military hardware indicate potential links between the organization’s financial and logistical networks and criminal enterprises. The location of such a munitions stockpile near the capital, Damascus, validates the group’s strategy of re-embedding itself in central regions following its territorial defeat.
This military cooperation marks a strategic turning point, occurring immediately after Syria formally joined the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS as its 90th member in November 2025. Since the fall of the Assad regime, Syria’s transitional government has identified the resurgence of ISIS as the country’s most pressing security concern, leading it to initiate intelligence sharing with the Coalition’s operations rooms through the Ministry of Interior. This cooperation model provides the capability to target ISIS cells in sensitive, government-controlled areas while simultaneously reducing U.S. reliance on its traditional ally, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
In a statement following the operation, CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper stated, “This successful operation ensures gains made against ISIS are lasting and the group is not able to regenerate or export terrorist attacks to the U.S. homeland and around the world.” Such joint missions are vital for countering the terrorist organization’s new strategy, which has focused on underground logistical networks since its territorial defeat in 2019. This alignment between regional security actors plays a critical role in maintaining pressure on ISIS remnants across Syria’s fragmented security landscape.
